Page 26 of Desire

“And you fear that’s what will happen if you kiss me?”

“You’re not asking for a simple kiss. You’re asking for my affection. I have lost everyone I’ve held dear. Do not ask me to care for you. Please.”

He crushed me in a fierce hug that should have felt suffocating but didn’t.

“Trust me. Trust us,” he said with a raw whisper. “We will not leave you, Kellen. Ever.”

“Death is the one certainty in this world, Brandle. We will all leave.”

“Kitten, I?—“

“Enough, Brandle,” Garron said. “Let her be.”

I felt Brandle’s heavy exhale and the kiss he placed on the top of my head before he released me and stood in one fluid motion.

Garron crouched down beside me as Brandle left.

“Hungry, Snow?”

He offered me the plate.

“Do you know how frustrating it is to feel as if you are always making the wrong choice?” I asked.

He smiled slightly.

“A choice isn’t right or wrong; it’s simply a choice. It’s not until you see the result that you can decide if it was right or wrong. And you’re still in the middle of your choice. So stop thinking and just enjoy your biscuit.”

When he started to rise, I caught his hand.

“Will you sit with me while I eat?”

I sat up on my mattress to make room for him.

“Who is staying with me today?” I asked.

“We all are.”

“Do you believe the men are healed enough to try something?”

“None of us wants to take that risk,” he said.

I nodded and took a bite.

“This is good. Tender. Perhaps, once I break your curse, you’ll become a baker.”

Garron ducked his head as a flush stained his cheeks.

“Or do you think you’ll stay here?” I asked.

“We wish to return home,” he said quietly. “It’s a memory for Brandle but only a story told by Henry for the rest of us.”

“Will you tell me about your home?” I asked.

“I would rather see it for the first time with you,” Garron said.

I met his gaze, seeing the hope there.

“It’s a deal then. I’ll help you, and after we help my sister, I’ll see your home with you.”

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